JAY-JAY POV
I didn't look up. Couldn't. My fists were still clenched, my breath uneven. The silence wasn't comforting — it was suffocating.
Kuya Angelo's words hung in the air like smoke. She's hurting.
No one moved.
Then Percy, ever dramatic, broke the tension with a sigh so theatrical it could've won an award. "Okay, so we're all emotionally unstable. Great. Can we at least agree Jay's not staying here?"
"I already said she's coming with us," Jare muttered, rubbing his jaw like I'd rearranged it.
"You said it like you were kidnapping me," I snapped.
Jare raised both hands. "Fine. Rephrasing: Jay, would you like to come live with us? We have snacks, emotional support, and Percy's ego."
Percy smirked. "My ego is a luxury feature."
Kuya Angelo stepped in again, voice firm. "She's under our custody. You can't just take her."
Jare didn't flinch. "We'll talk about custody. But she's not staying here."
"I'm right here," I said, finally looking up. "Can we stop talking around me?"
Everyone turned.
"I'll stay in HVIS," I said. "But I'm not staying in this house."
Jenna gasped. "Jay-Jay—"
"Don't," I said. "You don't get to act shocked. You made this bed."
Kuya Angelo looked torn. "We'll need to talk to Tita Gemma. And the school. And—"
"I'll handle it," Percy said, already pulling out his phone. "I have contacts. And charm. And a very convincing pout."
Jare grinned. "We also have a room ready. Fairy lights. Blackout curtains. Percy insisted on a mirror that makes you look like a goddess."
I blinked. "You guys actually prepared a room?"
Percy winked. "We never stopped hoping."
And just like that, the tension cracked — not gone, but softened. Like maybe, just maybe, this was the start of something better.
He looked older now — sharper, like life had carved him up while I was busy falling apart. But his eyes? Still the same. Still mine.
Percy saw me first. Saw the tears, the shaking, the way I was unraveling in front of everyone. He didn't hesitate. Crossed the room and wrapped me in a hug — tight, grounding, like he could hold me together by sheer force.
I clung to him, sobbing into his shoulder. He whispered something — soft, steady — but I couldn't hear it. I was too far gone. The hug didn't fix it. Not yet.
Then Jare stepped forward.
Slow. Careful. Like I might shatter.
He didn't say a word. Just knelt beside me and placed a hand on my back — warm, familiar, anchoring.
I turned, barely able to meet his eyes. "You came," I whispered.
He nodded. "I should've come sooner."
And that — that shattered me all over again.
"I'm sorry," I sobbed. "I shouldn't have left. I'm really sorry."
"I'm the one who should be saying sorry," Jare said, voice low.
"Who the hell are you?" Keifer snapped.
Jare rubbed the back of his neck. "Right. Forgot introductions."
Of course he did. He hadn't changed.
"I'm Jasprit Jared Fernandez Mariano. And yeah — I'm Jay's twin brother."
The room went silent.
Kuya Angelo looked stunned. Aries too. Even Section E froze.
"You're still alive?" Jenna gasped.
Jare's eyes narrowed. "Why? Were you hoping I wasn't?"
He knows. He knows what she did to me.
"No, son, please don't say that," Jenna said, stepping forward to hug him.
He pushed her away like she was poison. "I know exactly what you did to my sister. How you left her."
His voice rose. The room tensed.
"I'm here to take her back," Jare said.
"You can't just take her," someone from Section E protested.
"I can," he said. "And I will. She's leaving this house. She'll finish school here, but she's not staying under this roof."
I blinked. Did he really just say that?
Without thinking, I punched him in the jaw.
The room gasped.
Jare stumbled back, clutching his face. "Ow—what the hell, Jay?!"
"Oh my God, Jay," he groaned. "Are you even a woman?"
I glared. "You're seriously just like Kuya Percy."
Percy raised a brow. "Excuse me? I didn't leave you at McDonald's. I was literally holding twenty Happy Meals and your emotional breakdown."
Jare pointed at him. "You let her spiral!"
Percy scoffed. "I was the only one who showed up! You disappeared for four years, Jare. Four."
"Guys, seriously?" I snapped. "You both think you get to decide where I live, what school I go to — and now you're arguing like I'm not even here!"
"Oh, so now you're mad at us?" Jare said.
"Yes!" I shouted. "Because you both keep showing up when it's convenient and acting like you're my saviors!"
Percy crossed his arms. "I am a savior. I brought nuggets and emotional support."
"Enough!" Kuya Angelo's voice sliced through the chaos.
Everyone froze.
He stepped forward, eyes sharp. "This isn't a circus. You three need to stop yelling and start listening. Jay's not a project. She's a person. And right now, she's hurting."
Silence.
Until Percy, arms crossed, said coolly, "Good that you remembered she's not a project. Because last time I checked, you tried to fix her life with an engagement and a Red Rooster coupon."
The Fernandez's flinched. Jare snorted. I stared at the floor, heart pounding.
No one spoke.
Because Percy was right.
And for once, I didn't feel crazy for thinking it.
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